A Historical Public Debt Database

26 Pages Posted: 1 Feb 2011

See all articles by S. M. Ali Abbas

S. M. Ali Abbas

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Nazim Belhocine

International Monetary Fund

Asmaa A ElGanainy

Georgia State University; International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Mark Horton

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Date Written: November 2010

Abstract

This paper describes the compilation of the first truly comprehensive database on gross government debt-to-GDP ratios, covering nearly the entire IMF membership (174 countries) and spanning an exceptionally long time period. The database was constructed by bringing together a number of other datasets and information from original sources. For the most recent years, the data are linked to the IMF World Economic Outlook (WEO) database to facilitate regular updates. The paper discusses the evolution of debt-to-GDP ratios across country groups for several decades, episodes of debt spikes and reversals, and a pattern of negative correlation between debt and growth.

Keywords: Cross country analysis, Data collection, Databases, Gross domestic product, Public debt, Statistics, World Economic Outlook

Suggested Citation

Abbas, S. M. Ali and Belhocine, Nazim and El-Ganainy, Asmaa and El-Ganainy, Asmaa and Horton, Mark, A Historical Public Debt Database (November 2010). IMF Working Paper No. 10/245, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1750734

S. M. Ali Abbas

International Monetary Fund (IMF) ( email )

700 19th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20431
United States

Nazim Belhocine

International Monetary Fund ( email )

700 19th Street NW
Washington, DC 20431
United States

Asmaa El-Ganainy

Georgia State University ( email )

35 Broad Street
Atlanta, GA 30303-3083
United States

International Monetary Fund (IMF) ( email )

700 19th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20431
United States

Mark Horton

International Monetary Fund (IMF) ( email )

700 19th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20431
United States

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